Shopping malls have grown in size and complexity in recent years. Mega-shopping malls, as they are often called, have evolved, wherein the trend has been to make shopping malls more than just places to shop. In many cases, shopping malls not only have department stores, world class restaurants, and specialty stores, but also various entertainment complexes, such as movie theaters, children's play areas, and, in some cases, even theme parks with roller coaster rides.
Most large shopping malls are built with parking garages, which allow people to conveniently park their cars. Many parking garages are multi-level structures that enable a large number of cars to be parked in a relatively small area. Most parking garages simply provide parking spaces, and do not provide any other usable space. In this respect, very little has been done in the past to increase the usable space such as on top of parking garages at malls.
There have been attempts in the past to create buildings in combination with parking structures. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,629,787 issued to Hackett, a multi-floor bridge approach structure is disclosed which has a spiral ramp and, in one embodiment, an auditorium, a recreation hall, and a roof garden on top. This structure has parking spaces on the corners of each level, as well as parking spaces on the top floor.
In another structure, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,562,984, a structure is built above an existing freeway. In this patent, usable dwelling spaces, consisting of restaurants, motels, service stations, etc., are constructed with parking spaces above an existing freeway. Easy access is provided so that motorists can exit directly from the freeway into the complex and enter back into the freeway from the complex.
In other examples, drive-in movie theaters have been built in conjunction with various structures. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,422,581 issued to Allen, a domed indoor drive-in theater is shown wherein a multi-level parking structure is provided inside a dome with separate movie screens located on each level. U.S. Pat. No. 2,831,217 issued to Lombardo also shows a drive-in movie theater that has an outdoor sports arena connected thereto so that persons attending a sporting event can also attend a movie.
Notwithstanding the above, no attempts have been made in the past to build shopping malls or other complexes with drive-in movie theaters and/or events centers located on top of one or more parking garages. That is, no attempts have been made to provide additional usable space on top of parking garages, to maximize the space and expand the variety of uses offered by shopping malls in such manner.